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UB Researcher Finds Big Tobacco Has Powerful Global Grip

By ash | Published August 17, 2012

A new study led by a University at Buffalo researcher shows that Big Tobacco has a strong grip globally, making for a huge challenge when it comes to curbing tobacco use around the world.

In what is being described as the world’s largest tobacco-use study, the survey of people from more than a dozen nations paints a picture of a powerful and manipulative tobacco industry controlling tobacco use, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

“Our data reflect industry efforts to promote tobacco use,” said lead author Gary A. Giovino, chairman of the department of community health and health behavior at UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions.

“These include marketing and mass media campaigns by companies that make smoking seem glamorous, especially for women,” he said. “The industry’s marketing efforts also equate tobacco use with Western themes, such as freedom and gender equality.”

The study – funded in part by anti-tobacco organizations – focused on 14 low- and middle-income countries, including Brazil, China, India and Mexico, using face-to-face interviews with more than 400,000.

The research showed nearly half of men and 11 percent of women used tobacco. “Quit ratios” were highest in Brazil and Uruguay, where tobacco control strategies are strongest, while those ratios were lowest in China, India, Russia and Egypt.

The study, released Thursday, was co-authored by Samira Asma, chief of Global Tobacco Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Brazil and India governments.

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Fund profits from an addictive investment

By ash | Published August 17, 2012

THE taxpayer-owned Future Fund is profiting handsomely from tobacco investments, despite Canberra’s plain packaging laws.

As the High Court’s landmark ruling in favour of plain packaging triggered a slide in global tobacco stocks, latest figures show the fund’s tobacco shares, valued at $210 million, have delivered far higher returns than the overall fund.

The fund’s largest tobacco holding, a $55 million parcel of British American Tobacco shares, has returned 8.3 per cent a year since it was bought, figures published this month show.

A $48 million investment in American company Lorillard, which owns the Kent and Old Gold brands, has delivered bumper annual returns of 16.7 per cent.

Philip Morris shares, in which the fund has invested $44.8 million, have returned 15.7 per cent a year.

These returns are far higher than the fund’s average returns of 4.9 per cent a year since it was set up in 2006 to pay for public service pensions.

The investments are attracting growing criticism from health groups, and the High Court’s ruling on plain packaging has reignited the debate.

With tobacco companies vowing to fight plain packaging through other legal avenues, Greens Senator Richard Di Natale said it was hypocritical for the government to invest in tobacco.

‘In one way we’re helping fund this toxic industry to take legal action against us,” said Senator Di Natale, who has proposed a bill forcing the fund to sell its tobacco shares. ”It makes no sense whatsoever.”

The fund says its investments in 15 tobacco companies are allowed by its internal policies because tobacco is a legal product.

Global tobacco shares fell in response to Canberra’s plain packaging rules, but have remained popular with investors because their earnings are not affected by the economic cycle.

British American Tobacco stocks fell 2 per cent on Wednesday night, but are up 27.5 per cent for the year. Philip Morris was down 0.2 per cent but is up 34.6 per cent in the past year.

“Those stocks still have a defensive quality to their earnings in turbulent times, notwithstanding the sustained anti-smoking movement,” said CCZ Statton Equities director Dave Hofman.

Peter Warnes, head of equity research for Morningstar Australasia, said: “Why do people still think tobacco stocks are a good investment? Because nicotine is addictive.”

by Clancy Yeates National Times

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Campaign Against Missouri Cigarette Tax Hike Gears Up

By ash | Published August 16, 2012

JEFFERSON CITY • Off-brand cigarette-makers are shouldering most of the cost so far of the campaign against a cigarette tax increase on Missouri’s Nov. 6 ballot.

Cheyenne International LLC of Grover, N.C., and Xcaliber International LTD LLC of Pryor, Okla., each gave $200,000 this month to the fight against the proposal, according to reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

The tobacco tax increase, which has been labeled Proposition B, would generate at least $284 million for public schools, state colleges and universities, and smoking cessation programs.

Proponents say the proposal also would save the state money by reducing long-term health costs linked to smoking.

Missouri currently has the lowest cigarette tax in the country — 17 cents per pack. Proposition B, which was placed on the ballot by an initiative petition drive, would raise it by 73 cents per pack.

Because of the way the proposal is written, the impact would be even greater on cigarettes made by smaller tobacco companies, such as Cheyenne and Xcaliber.

Companies that didn’t participate in the national tobacco settlement in 1998 currently can sell cheaper cigarettes in Missouri than major manufacturers, such as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., can.

The larger companies pay the state about $150 million a year under the settlement, to help cover diseases caused by smoking.

Companies that didn’t sign the settlement pay a portion of their revenue into a state escrow fund, but they have been allowed to recoup their money at the end of each year.

The ballot proposal would eliminate that advantage.

As a result, the off-brands could face an additional cost of 57 cents per pack, on top of the 73-cent tax increase, said Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum & Convenience Store Association.

“That’s why they have even more skin in the game,” Leone said.

The association’s PAC is running the opponents’ campaign. Their ads will focus on “this outrageous and unfair 760 percent tax increase,” Leone said, citing the impact on the smaller companies’ brands.

The ballot proposal also would impose smaller tax hikes on other tobacco products, such as cigars.

The opponents’ campaign had $116,694 in the bank on July 26, before the recent surge.

Though Big Tobacco’s money is noticeably absent so far, retailers are helping out. For example, U-Gas Inc. of Fenton, Mo., recently chipped in $50,000 while Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. added $25,000.

Missourians for Health and Education, the committee campaigning for the proposal, has already spent $1 million on the initiative and had $126,452 in the bank, at last report.

The American Cancer Society, which has provided much of proponents’ funding, added $11,564 this week. Other big checks came from World Wide Technology Holding Co., Inc. of St. Louis, which kicked in $25,000, and Gray Ritter & Graham, a St. Louis law firm, which contributed $10,000.

By Virginia Young St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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WHO Welcomes Landmark Decision from Australia’s High Court on Tobacco Plain Packaging Act

By ash | Published August 15, 2012

Statement by WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan
15 August 2012

The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly welcomes the landmark decision from Australia’s High Court to dismiss a legal challenge from the tobacco industry, and calls on the rest of the world to follow Australia’s tough stance on tobacco marketing.

Several major tobacco companies challenged Australia’s legislation to require cigarettes and other tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging without any branding. But the industry’s attempt to derail this effective tobacco control measure failed. As of December 2012, Australia will be the first country to sell cigarettes in drab, olive-green packaging without branding.

With Australia’s victory, public health enters a brave new world of tobacco control. Plain packaging is a highly effective way to counter industry’s ruthless marketing tactics. It is also fully in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The lawsuits filed by Big Tobacco look like the death throes of a desperate industry. With so many countries lined up to ride on Australia’s coattails, what we hope to see is a domino effect for the good of public health.

The case is being watched closely by several other countries who are considering similar measures to help fight tobacco.

The evidence on the positive health impact of plain packaging compiled by Australia’s High Court will benefit other countries in their efforts to develop and implement strong tobacco control measures to protect the health of their people and to stand resolute against the advances of the tobacco industry.

Tobacco use is one of the most preventable public health threats. Tobacco products will eventually kill up to half of the people who use them – that means nearly six million people die each year. If governments do not take strong action to limit exposures to tobacco, by 2030 it could kill more than eight million people each year.

The WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control entered into force in 2005. Parties are obliged over time to take a number of steps to reduce demand and supply for tobacco products including: protecting people from exposure to tobacco smoke, counteracting illicit trade, banning advertising, promotion and sponsorship, banning sales to minors, putting large health warnings on packages of tobacco, increasing tobacco taxes and creating a national coordinating mechanism for tobacco control. More than 170 countries are Parties to the Convention.

For further information, please contact:

Glenn Thomas
Communications Officer
WHO
Telephone: +41 22 791 3983
Mobile: +41 79 509 0677
E-mail: thomasg@who.int

Read this release at its original location >

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Historic Plain Packaging Measure Highlights Need for Stronger Action in U.S.

By ash | Published August 15, 2012

Plain Packaging of Cigarettes Upheld by Australia’s Highest Court

Historic Measure Highlights Need for Stronger Action in U.S.

Yesterday, Australia’s highest court found against the tobacco industry and in favor of the government’s right to protect public health by upholding plain packaging for tobacco products. The new package requirements, which will include large graphic health warnings against a drab green background with only the name of the brand without any colors or other indicators, will go into effect on December 1st.

Australia is the first country to introduce plain packaging, a measure recommended under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world’s first public health treaty. While over 50 countries now require graphic health warnings, Australia’s plan goes a step further. Having banned all other tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, plain packaging removes the last public space for the tobacco industry to market its deadly products. Several other countries, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the European Union, are considering plain packaging.

“This is a milestone in our decades-long global effort to end the tobacco epidemic,” said Laurent Huber, Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the nation’s oldest anti-tobacco organization. “With the injunction against FDA-mandated graphic warning labels, the U.S. has fallen far behind in efforts to protect people from addiction and early death from tobacco use.”

A federal court found that new U.S. warning labels, which depicted the harmful effects of smoking, were unconstitutional. The decision is currently under appeal.

Canada had considered plain packaging in the late 1990s, but backed off when the tobacco industry threatened to sue under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trade agreements have increasingly been used by Big Tobacco to block or impede tobacco control measures. Australia’s victory in its high court is not the only legal barrier to be overcome – Philip Morris International has sued under an Australia-Hong Kong bilateral investment treaty, and three countries (Ukraine, Honduras and the Dominican Republic) have filed complaints with the World Trade Organization.

“The international trade legal regime was never envisioned to preclude governments from protecting the health of their people,” said Chris Bostic, Deputy Director of ASH. “The tobacco industry should not be permitted to abuse the international legal system in an effort to intimidate governments.”

In addition to Australia, the tobacco industry has launched trade lawsuits against Uruguay and Norway, among others. Earlier this year, the United States lost a trade dispute with Indonesia over its ban on flavorings, including candy flavorings clearly aimed at children.

We applaud Australia’s courage to stand up to the tobacco industry, their determination to protect the health of their citizens and be a world leader in public health.

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ASH Poster Presentations at the 2012 NCTOH

By ash | Published August 15, 2012

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Australian Court Approves Tobacco Pack Logo Ban

By ash | Published August 15, 2012

(Reuters) – Australia called on the world to match its tough new anti-tobacco marketing laws that will ban logos on cigarette packs, after its highest court on Wednesday dismissed a challenge from global manufacturers.

The decision means that from December 1 cigarettes and tobacco products must be sold in plain olive green packets with graphic health warnings, such as pictures of mouth cancer and other smoking-related illnesses.

Although the impact of Australia on their global business is small, the law could have a major effect if it is adopted as a precedent in other countries, especially the fast-growing economies that cigarette firms see as markets of the future.

The laws are in line with World Health Organisation recommendations and are being watched closely by countries including Britain, Norway, New Zealand, Canada and India, who are considering similar measures to help fight smoking.

British American Tobacco (BATS.L), Britain’s Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L), Philip Morris (PM.N) andJapan Tobacco (2914.T) challenged the laws in Australia’s High Court, claiming the rules were unconstitutional because they effectively extinguished their intellectual property rights.

In a brief statement, the High Court said a majority of its seven judges believed the laws did not breach Australia’s constitution. A full judgement will be released later.

The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 1 billion people around the world are regular smokers, with 80 percent in low- and middle-income countries.

Shares in tobacco groups dipped lower with BAT off 1.8 percent at 3,384 pence and Imperial Tobacco down 1.9 percent at 2,486 pence by 11:40 a.m. British time in a slightly lower Londonmarket.

Supporters of the measure hailed the legal victory as an important step for public health in Australia and any other countries that may copy it.

Australian Attorney-General Nicola Roxon hailed the ruling as “a watershed moment for tobacco control around the world”.

“The message to the rest of the world is big tobacco can be taken on and beaten,” said Roxon, whose father, a smoker, died of cancer when she was 10.

“Without brave governments willing to take the fight up to big tobacco, they’d still have us believing that tobacco is neither harmful nor addictive,” she said after the ruling.

According to the global Tobacco Atlas, a report on smoking produced by the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society, 17 percent of male deaths and 14 percent of female deaths in Australia are due to tobacco.

Read the rest of this article at Reuters >

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Imperial Tobacco Admit Giving Staff Free Cigarettes ‘For Research’

By ash | Published August 15, 2012

New Zealand Tobacco Manufacturer Imperial Tobacco is under investigation for allegedly providing their 250 employees with free cigarettes samples. Imperial Tobacco Commercial Boss Brendan Walker confirmed the giveaways saying “It’s purely for research” and “it’s entirely up to an individual whether they see it as a perk or not”. Legislation in New Zealand bans manufacturers from giving away their products free or at a discount.

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Cigarette Makers Help Fund Anti-Tax Effort

By ash | Published August 15, 2012

The Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association PAC received a $200,000 donation from Cheyenne International a North Carolina based company and maker of Decade cigarettes. The donation is to help fund the opposition efforts to the Proposition B proposal that would add 73 cents to the cost of a pack of cigarettes and appear on November 6th ballots.  Proposition B would also increase the tax on loose tobacco by 25% and increase the tax on cigars and other tobacco products by 15%. If passed the measure would provide funding to publics schools, universities and smoking cessation programs.  The Missouri PAC reportedly has $116,000 prior to the $200,000 donation.  Big tobacco companies such as R.J. Reynolds and Altria claim they will not contribute to their efforts.

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Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on a Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products 5th Session MAR 29-APR 4, 2012

By ash | Published August 14, 2012

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on a Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products met for a final (fifth) session on 29 March – 4 April 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland.

It agreed the text of a draft protocol, which will be up for adoption at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in November 2012 in Seoul.

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The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on a Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, 5th Session – MAR 29-APR 4, 2012

By ash | Published August 14, 2012

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on a Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products met for a final (fifth) session on  March 29 - April 4, 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland.

It agreed the text of a draft protocol, which will be up for adoption at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in November 2012 in Seoul.

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Stale Smoke: The Tobacco Industry is Up to its Old Tricks

By ash | Published August 12, 2012
The latest survey of tobacco use among young people brought good news about the prevalence of cigarette smoking, but highlighted a disturbing trend on the use of cigars and smokeless tobacco.

The 2011 National Youth Tobacco Survey, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that cigarette smoking rates continue to fall, with new lows of 15.8 percent among high school students and 4.3 percent among middle schoolers.

Anti-smoking forces have learned what works in the campaign against cigarette smoking — higher tobacco taxes, funding for cessation and prevention programs, strong anti-smoking laws and regulation of tobacco products and marketing.

Unfortunately, the tobacco industry has learned some lessons, too. The survey provides sad confirmation that tobacco companies are successfully exploiting discrepancies in the law. Candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes are banned, but cigars are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

It’s no accident that there’s been a significant increase in cigar smoking among African-American high schoolers, from 7.1 percent in 2009 to 11.7 percent last year. Among all high-school boys, 15.7 percent smoke cigars and 12.9 percent use smokeless tobacco.

The FDA should assert jurisdiction over all tobacco products, and Congress should close loopholes that help the industry lure new, young customers with cheap, sweet cigars that look and smoke just like cigarettes. Lawmakers can help, too, by setting tax rates on cigars and smokeless tobacco that are as high as those on cigarettes.

The insidious use of flavors and marketing campaigns geared to young people are no different from campaigns of old, which enticed generations of young people to take up a habit that made smoking the No. 1 cause of preventable disease in the nation. These tactics must be snuffed out.

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See this article at its original location Pittsburgh Post-Gazette >

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Imperial Tobacco Admit Giving Staff Free Cigarettes ‘For Research’

By ash | Published August 12, 2012

NEW Zealand’s largest tobacco manufacturer will be investigated for giving free cigarettes to its staff.

Imperial Tobacco‘s commercial boss Brendan Walker confirmed cigarettes were available to office staff and workers during breaks at its Petone factory, the Herald on Sunday reports.

“It’s purely for research,” he told the newspaper.

“The fact of the matter is we’re keen to receive the feedback and comments on those particular manufacturing runs.”

Smokefree legislation bans manufacturers from distributing tobacco products free or at a reduced charge.

However, Mr Walker says he is confident Imperial Tobacco is acting within the law as employees could choose whether to test products.

“It’s entirely up to an individual whether they see it as a perk or not.”

He said there were no health warnings on the products.
Hutt Valley Regional Public Health smokefree officer Kristen Foley said he would seek discussions with the company bosses next week about the test products.

Last week Imperial Tobacco officially completed a $NZ45 million ($A34.80 million) upgrade to its Petone factory which will quadruple its exports to Australia.

More than three billion cigarettes and 700 tonnes of roll-your-own tobacco will be manufactured at the plant and exported to Australia each year.

About 250 people work at the factory.

The upgrade was criticised by the Cancer Council of Australia and the New Zealand Cancer Society.

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See this article at its original location in the Herald Sun >

 

 

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Thank You for Joining Our Email List

By shoestring | Published August 10, 2012

Thank you for taking the time to take action with ASH by joining our email list.

We will keep you informed of our progress and the latest on tobacco-related issues.

More ways to support ASH >

 

NOTE: Your information will not be shared, sold or used for any other purposes.

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Cigarette Maker Helps Fund Anti-Tax Effort

By ash | Published August 10, 2012

Opponents of the tobacco tax increase on the Nov. 6 ballot got a big boost this week when Cheyenne International, maker of Decade cigarettes, gave $200,000 to fight the measure.

The donation from the North Carolina firm more than doubled the money available to the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association PAC, the group that will spearhead the fight against the tax hike. On its latest report, covering the period through July 26, the PAC reported it had $116,000 in the bank.

Behind the donation, however, is some good news for supporters of the proposal: The largest tobacco manufacturers have told Ron Leone, executive director of the association, that they will not participate in the campaign, he said.

“Altria and R.J. Reynolds, what most people would define as Big Tobacco, are sitting out the fight,” Leone said.

The donation — and the big companies’ decisions to sit it out — came in response to donation solicitations from the PAC, he said.

Earlier this week, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced that the proposal, which would add 73 cents to the cost of a pack of cigarettes, had enough signatures to be placed on the ballot as Proposition B. Along with the extra tax on cigarettes, the proposal would impose a 25 percent tax on loose tobacco for rolling cigarettes and a 15 percent tax on cigars and other tobacco products.

Missouri now imposes a tax of 17 cents per pack on cigarettes, the lowest in the nation.

The measure is expected to raise $283 million to $423 million annually. Public schools would get half the money, state colleges and universities would get 30 percent, and the rest would go toward smoking cessation programs.

Read the rest of the article at Columbia Daily Tribune >

By Rudi Keller/ Columbia Daily Tribune

 

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ASH Launches New Website, Brand

By shoestring | Published August 10, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC (Aug. 10, 2012) Action on Smoking & Health (ASH), one of the nation’s oldest anti-tobacco organizations devoted to the tobacco related epidemic, has launched a new website and brand to reflect its new vision and mission. While ASH’s core work of combating the death and disease caused by tobacco remains unchanged, its methods are keeping pace with the nature of the epidemic—which has become global and is growing at an alarming rate.

“While smoking rates in the United States are lower than they have been in almost a century, the tobacco industry is wealthier than ever and has moved their marketing efforts into the developing world, cultivating new generations of customers and subjecting millions to addiction, disease and death, says Laurent Huber, executive director of ASH. “The tobacco epidemic is a global problem requiring a global solution.”

The website provides insight into how ASH is taking global action against tobacco, information on the epidemic and ways for members of the public to take action.

In addition to engaging the public to become involved in the global war on tobacco, the website provides detailed information on the organizations key program areas, that include:

 

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Thank You for Joining Our Email List

By shoestring | Published August 10, 2012

Thank you for taking the time to take action with ASH by joining our email list.

We will keep you informed of our progress and the latest on tobacco-related issues.

More ways to support ASH >

 

NOTE: Your information will not be shared, sold or used for any other purposes.

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Join Me & ASH > Support Global Action Against Tobacco

By shoestring | Published August 10, 2012

Tobacco use is a global epidemic, and the problem is getting worse rapidly as the tobacco industry penetrates the developing world. Here are some sobering facts.

Tobacco-related deaths

  • 20th Century – 100 million
  • 21st Century estimate – 1 billion
  • A person dies from tobacco every 6 seconds

 

More facts

  • Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including 250 that are known to be harmful to human health and more than 50 known carcinogens.
  • There are 1.1 billion tobacco users in the world. This number is expected to increase to 1.6 billion over the next two decades.
  • More than 25% of all deaths in the U.S. are attributable to tobacco.
  • Tobacco industry revenue in 2010 was $664 billion. This was greater than the gross domestic products of all but 18 nations.
  • Worldwide, more than 600,000 nonsmokers die each year from exposure to secondhand smoke. Nearly a third of these victims are children.
  • The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FTCT), the world’s first public health treaty, is one of the most universal treaties in existence, with 176 Parties representing over 87% of global population. The United States has not ratified the FCTC.
  • Addiction to tobacco impacts poverty and development. In poorer countries, up to 30% of income is spent on tobacco, reducing funds available for nutrition, education and health care.
  • In the United States, each pack of cigarettes sold costs society an estimated $18.05.

 

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Tobacco Harmful to Those Who Farm It

By ash | Published August 7, 2012

Tobacco farming is harmful to the environment and farmworkers, with multinational companies contributing to the problem by exploiting local farmers, new research has revealed.

A recent review of research on the environmental health impact of tobacco farming found that it degrades the environment, harms workers, and leads to the loss of land resources and biodiversity.

The article in the journal Tobacco Control highlights tobacco farming problems, such as excessive use of chemicals and extensive deforestation, and found that multinational tobacco companies’ actions contribute to these problems.

In SA, nearly 13 234 hectares of arable land is taken up by tobacco plantations, and the country produces nearly 16 000 metric tons of tobacco a year.

Most of the world’s tobacco farming takes place in the developing world, with Malawi being the largest producer in Africa, assigning 183 052ha of land to tobacco.

The second biggest producer in Africa is Zimbabwe which grows tobacco on 79 917ha.

The biggest producer in the world is China which uses 1 266 113ha for growing tobacco.

For the study, Natacha Lecours from the Non-Communicable Disease Prevention programme in Canada, and colleagues reviewed 45 scientific articles on the topic.

They found that tobacco farming causes green tobacco sickness (GTS) in farmworkers who absorb nicotine through the skin when handling wet tobacco. GTS causes muscle weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, abdominal cramps, breathing difficulty, diarrhoea, chills, fluctuations in blood pressure or heart rate, and increased perspiration and salivation.

“As a monocrop, tobacco plants are vulnerable to a variety of pests and diseases, which require the application of large quantities of chemicals,” the authors wrote.

Pesticide poisoning is common among workers and those living near tobacco-growing fields.

Exposure to these chemicals causes respiratory, neurological, and psychological problems.

Studies found pesticide sprayers in this industry are at increased risk of neurological and psychological conditions because of poor protection practices.

Apart from deforestation and soil degradation, tobacco farming is associated with the destruction of ground water resources, sedimentation of rivers, reservoirs and irrigation systems, climate change, and species extinction due to habitat fragmentation and over exploitation, said the authors.

Read the rest of the article at Pretoria News >

By Wilma Stassen/ Health-e News Service

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ASH calls on President Obama to Immediately Submit FCTC for Ratification, 8 Years After U.S. Signed Agreement

By shoestring | Published August 7, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC (Aug. 8, 2012) Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) calls on President Obama to immediately submit the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to the Senate for ratification. The United States signed the FCTC in 2004, but 8 years and 2 administrations later it still languishes in the White House. Meanwhile, the instrument has been adopted by 175 countries—representing 87% of global population—making it one of the most rapidly-embraced treaties in history.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is a historic effort to end a public health catastrophe. The world’s first public health treaty, and the first treaty negotiated by the World Health Organization, the FCTC aims to “protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.”

The FCTC addresses the tobacco epidemic in a comprehensive manner. Among its obligations:

  • Barring the tobacco industry from participating in the development of public health regulations;
  • Protecting people from involuntary exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke;
  • Requiring industry disclosure of ingredients in tobacco products, and requiring their regulation;
  • Requiring large warning labels, and banning misleading qualifiers like “light” and “low”;
  • Banning all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship;
  • Fighting tobacco product smuggling; and
  • Assisting farmers in transitioning to other livelihoods.

 

“The United States has been sitting on the sidelines of this historic and vital effort for too long, says Laurent Huber, ASH Executive Director. “Unless greater action is taken, 1 billion people will die from tobacco this century—a 10-fold increase over the 20th century toll. And in spite of all of our progress here in the U.S., 2,000 to 3,000 children begin smoking every day and more than a quarter of all deaths are attributable to tobacco.”

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ASH to Attend National Conference on Tobacco or Health

By shoestring | Published August 7, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC (Aug. 7, 2012)

Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) will address global health governance issues impacting the tobacco related epidemic at the National Conference on Tobacco or Health that opens in Kansas City, Wed Aug. 15. The Conference—held every 18 months—brings together researchers, advocates and regulatory officials from all over the United States to share their work and ideas on the next steps in their common fight against tobacco.

ASH will be focusing attendees’ attention on the growing global nature of the tobacco epidemic and how events overseas impact our efforts here at home including:

  • How the U.S. is falling behind on tobacco control
  • FCTC Implementation
  • The NCD Summit and global tobacco control
  • Graphic tobacco warning labels around the world compared to U.S. measures
  • Industry interference in tobacco policy
  • The impact of globalization on the tobacco epidemic

 

For more information on the National Conference on Tobacco or Health, visit TobaccoControlConference.org.

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What does ASH do?

By shoestring | Published August 7, 2012

ASH works to end the global disease, damage and death caused by tobacco. We accomplish this by educating the public and decision makers, tracking tobacco industry actions, and working for strong public policies at the local, national and global levels. ASH works closely with its allies to ensure that the public health community addresses the tobacco epidemic in a unified and coherent manner. ASH is not anti-smoker – we are anti-tobacco.

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Why did ASH update its mission?

By shoestring | Published August 6, 2012

As the U.S. and other western countries took action against tobacco, the industry went global to continue making money off of the misery of its consumers. In order to counter this disease’s vector – the tobacco industry – ASH decided to take the fight global as well. There is much left to do both at home and abroad. By allying with friends around the world, we give the industry nowhere to hide.

Events overseas profoundly impact our efforts here at home. Billions of dollars earned overseas are brought back to the U.S. and used to finance friendly political races, run massive media campaigns to block progress and hire armies of lobbyists. The increasing rights given to corporations in international trade agreements threaten to undo regulations at the local, state and national level.

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What does ASH do in my state/county/community?

By shoestring | Published August 5, 2012

ASH works with a network of allies in the United States to continue progress in fighting tobacco here at home. Often, we can bring fresh expertise and evidence to bear from progressive efforts in foreign countries. ASH also fights tobacco industry efforts to roll back local progress through litigation, especially trade agreements, and exposes Big Tobacco’s efforts to subvert the political system through lobbying, media campaigns and political donations.

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ASH at the National Conference on Tobacco or Health (NCTOH) – AUG 15-17, 2012

By shoestring | Published August 5, 2012

(Aug. 15-17, 2012 / Kansas City, Mo.)

ASH will be taking part in this year’s National Conference on Tobacco or Health (NCTOH) as both a presenter and exhibitor. The NCTOH is an important forum for those in the tobacco control community to exchange ideas, learn how to improve tobacco control programs and renew our commitment to the movement. For more information about ASH’s role at this year’s conference please visit TobaccoControlConference.org.

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